Sri Lanka are due to face India in a series of 6 white-ball games from July 13.
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The Sri Lanka cricket team has been hit with a rather unsettling COVID crisis that does not seem to end. News broke out today that their video analyst has also tested positive, only a day after batting coach Grant Flower. The national cricket side confirmed the news on social media platforms after their RT-PCR test results came out on Friday. The support staff member has been reportedly quarantined and being taken care of by the team doctors. The same doctors are also keeping an eye on batting coach Flower.
“The Data Analyst of the Sri Lanka National Team, GT Niroshan, has tested positive for Covid 19. He was found to be positive, following a PCR Test carried out among the National Players, Coaches, and Support Staff yesterday, following the identification of Grant Flower as Covid Positive. Niroshan is now undergoing due medical protocols,” the Lankan cricket board said in a statement.
Both the positive reports have come less than a week before the nation’s series against India. The series was scheduled to start on July 13, but it now needs to be seen if that will go forward as planned. The Indian side, led by skipper Shikhar Dhawan, has been training in Colombo after completing their mandatory quarantine period.
The Sri Lankan players and staff entered a new bubble in Colombo after returning from their tour of England in what was a bubble-to-bubble transfer protocol. They have all been in isolation in separate hotel rooms in Colombo. However, the new cases might mean that the bubble has been compromised.
The players and staff had to deal with a COVID situation while they were in England after three players broke the bubble protocols and were seen smoking on the streets of Durham right before the ODI series. The SLC suspended the trio of Kushal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, and Danushka Gunathilaka for breaching bio-bubble protocols just before the ODI series between Sri Lanka and England in Durham.
Only a few days after the final ODI was played between the two countries, as many as seven England players tested positive for the virus. This has caused a rather troublesome state of panic in the English camp, and they were confronted by the government regarding the matter.
The list included 3 players and 4 support staff members. England announced a fresh squad for the 3-match ODI series against Pakistan, a day before the start of the series after the Covid-19 scare in the Eoin Morgan-led side.
